The Key to My Heart is Gold
by Emerald Grey Jones
Summary: Harry's first year at Hogwarts was a test run and he didn't like what he saw. So he comes up with a plan to take charge of his own life. Slash


Prologue

Harry waved goodbye and watched as Hermione left with her parents. Finally, all his friends were gone, now he could start his plan.

After the whole incident with Voldemort and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry felt that his test trial was over. He would never be going to Hogwarts ever again, that was final. Safest place on earth his ass.

Towards the entrance of King's Cross Station, he spotted his uncle. Walking over with an empty look on his face, he took the verbal abuse his uncle dished out with ease and patiently waited for the trip back to the Dursley house to end.

"Out of the car boy," Vernon ordered.

"Yes Uncle Vernon."

He walked into the house but before he could take three steps into it, he turned suddenly and startled his uncle with the big grin on his face. His uncle, put off by his cheery expression, dropped his suit case on the wooden floor just inside the door so the neighbors didn't see it.

"What is it?" Vernon snapped at him.

"I would like to know if I could have a word with you and Aunt Petunia for a moment." Vernon opened his mouth to protest this request but Harry interrupted him. "If you let me talk to you, you will only have to see me probably, three months a year. Maybe even less than that, I don't know yet. But please, let me tell you my plan, and you would never have to communicate with me ever again."

His uncle thought it over; the prospect of getting rid of the freak was too tempting an offer to pass up. "Fine. But if it makes me get involved with your freakishness then no food for a week."

"Deal."

~.~

He looked at his relatives who were shifting nervously on the couch before him. He had pulled up chair from the kitchen and set it in front of the couch so he wasn't at some awkward angle looking at them.

"You were right." He started, "the wizarding world is terrible. They are far more extreme in their prejudice than," he had to word this carefully or he couldn't sell this idea, "normal people without magic are. So, I propose that I go to a boarding school _of my choice_, and all you would have to do is smile and sign the papers."

"But what if the freaks come looking for you here?" Petunia asked.

"They won't. You've always complained about how you want to move away from here and I can make that happen. I will stay here until my Hogwarts letter comes and I can send back a reply so that they don't think anything is wrong, but until then you have two whole months to choose a house, and move out.

"This is a deal between us. You never have to deal with magic ever again, and I get my freedom as well as a way out of that terrible place that they call a school. I had a near death experience in what I was _assured_ to be one of the safest places on the earth. They obviously lied to me. You however, have not, save that whole magic and my parents were magical thing that went down a while back.

"So right now, I hold you, normal people, with more credibility than my own kind at the moment. Help me to help you and I will do the best I can to get you away from anything 'freakish'," saying that word killed him, "or 'magical'. This will benefit both of us in the end."

"How can you be sure boy?" Petunia said again. "What if they find you? What then? Will you involve us once again in this freaky business?"

"I know that I will eventually be found and I will deal with that when it happens. But for now and for the future, you were no longer involved in the magical world the moment I proposed this deal. Will you take my offer?"

"…"

"We will."

~.~

One month later, the Dursleys were shipping their stuff to Texas and Harry had applied for a school in— conveniently— South Carolina, America. It was called the Graham's Institute for Children **(A/N: made up)**. It was perfect because as long as he passed the entrance exams and kept his grades up then they didn't care about his past or what his past scores were. Good thing he paid attention in class and did the work despite never turning it in.

Perfect.

He took a moment to stare at the empty walls of the living room. It made him disappointed that the wizarding world was not all that it was cracked up to be. He was really excited about the fact that there would be people who could do the things he could do.

But he couldn't let himself be caught up in his excitement. So he decided that his first year would be a practice run and if he enjoyed it, he would stay. Unfortunately there was the whole Voldemort issue where a mad lunatic was after him the whole year. Not to mention the different views of him which almost always included him spoilt rotten like his cousin. Snape was a big disappointment there.

It just wasn't the environment that he wanted to be around for the rest of his life.

A 'pop' interrupted his thoughts and before him stood an odd creature with big eyes and large pointy ears.

"Misters Harry Potter sir! I must be warning you of the great danger you are in!" it squeaked.

Harry just looked at it dumbly for a second. "Um, I think I know what kind of danger I'm in. And who, or what, exactly are you anyway?"

"I's be a house elf sir. One bound to the Malfoy family!" it said somberly. "My names be Dobby, and I have a warning for you sir, you must not go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year."

"Oh ok, I wasn't planning on going anyway."

"There be's a great plot to- what?"

"I'm not going this year anyway so nothing to worry about Dobby!" Harry grinned.

Dobby looked a little put out by his answer but said nothing of it. "Then I's just be's on my way then sir."

"Goodbye Dobby." And the little creature popped away, leaving Harry with his thoughts once more.

**I've had this idea in my head for a total of three days now and I just can't wait for my laptop with all my story updates on there to be fixed any longer. So sorry I haven't been updating as much as I should.**


End file.
